IMPLODING

Staff Quit Josh Mandel’s Campaign, Citing Toxic Work Environment

Two of the staffers pointed to Mandel’s relationship with Rachel Wilson, the campaign’s finance director.

A relationship between an Ohio U.S Senate candidate and his staffer is threatening to take the entire campaign down. Three staffers of Ohio candidate Josh Mandel have quit, with two of them citing a toxic work environment caused by a romantic relationship between Mandel and campaign finance director Rachel Wilson. Staffers said Wilson demanded 12-hour work days, cursed them out, and hurled embarrassing insults their way, sources told The Columbus Dispatch. Mandel and Wilson would also get into their own screaming matches, sources told the outlet, intensely arguing over campaign details. Scott Guthrie, the campaign’s manager, confirmed that the pair had been dating since August—all while Wilson was employed under Mandel—but declined to discuss the allegations.

It’s not the first instance of Wilson allegedly stirring trouble. She allegedly pushed the camera of an Ohio Democratic Party tracker who was following Mandel in October 2017, violating an unspoken rule between campaigns.